Reflections of a Vagabond

Although the similarities are many (i.e. sleeping in their car, a shower is a much sought-after commodity and there is a desperation to find some ice for your water bottle), there is a big distinction between a vagabond and a homeless person. Vagabonds MAKE THE INTENTIONAL CHOICE to wear the same clothes several days in a row, brush their teeth in a cup, pee in the bushes, and overstay their welcome at the McDonalds just to mooch off the free wifi. Vagabonds can at any point choose to abandon ship and stay at a motel with hot showers, ice machines, and free wifi.....unless of course you are driving along the PCH (Pacific Coast Hwy 1) in California and every single campground is full, you've been driving in the dark for 2 hrs looking for a campsite, missing all the scenery along the way, it's now 1am, there's not even any hotels as an option, you're out in the middle of nowhere, the kids are already asleep in the backseat and you decide to just pull over & sleep too!
National park campgrounds are by far the cheapest campsites in the nation ($8-$14). They are always cheaper than state campgrounds, especially in CA where it's $35!!!! Highway robbery! It's not a vagabond's fault that national park campgrounds don't have showers. Another issue is that the water sources are one temperature: cold when you want them hot & hot when you want them cold (basically reflecting the temperature of the climate). So when we were up north at the beginning of our trip sleeping in fleece hats & gloves, forget wanting a hot shower, we were just longing for some warm water to wash our hands & face. And now down here in the blazing desert, it would be such a treat to have some cool (one could never hope for cold) water to fill our water bottles. It's pretty bad when your kid calls out in excitement "Yes!! This water fountain is warm not hot!"
As far as the laundry mat issue goes, besides being creepy places and besides not having them at national parks or along the PCH, when we are in a town it's more an issue of time....unless it's right next to a McDees where you can do some work on the Internet, or next to a really cool park that will keep the kids entertained for 2 hrs, who wants to take time to stop all the fun and do laundry? We'd rather be hiking or driving to our next neat destination. Besides it's faster to just stop at WalMart and buy more underwear!
It's kind of the same issue with washing dishes...why waste campstove fuel to boil water (when you're up north) and waste even more precious time filling up the wash basin (rubber made tub) when you can just do the job with a wet wipe?
And yes Joey wants to live this way the rest of his life! Who needs civilization & luxury when you can trade up for travel!?! You can't see all the eye-dazzling Creation that we've seen on this trip from the comforts of your home (Discovery Channel does NOT count)!